Jersey City community group says plan to cleanup choromium doesn't go far enough

AMY SARA CLARK / THE JERSEY JOURNALA student protests the city's proposed cleanup plan for 16 acres of chromium-tainted land at a former industrial site at 880 Garfield Ave outside City Hall on April 8, 2009.

More than a dozen people protested for nearly an hour outside City Hall last night against the city's proposed settlement to cleanup 16 acres of chromium-tainted land at a former industrial site at 880 Garfield Ave.

The protest was organized by the neighborhood group Graco, which says that the settlement with PPG Industries is woefully insufficient.

"The proposed settlement agreement fails to ensure the safety of the residents," Graco president Felicia Collis said to the City Council during a council meeting held immediately after the protest.

PPG had a chromite ore refinement plant on the site from 1924 to 1963. A byproduct of the refinement is hexavalent chromium, which causes such illnesses as cancer, respiratory problems and kidney and liver damage. A 2008 federal study found that Jersey City residents living closer to chromium-contaminated sites have a significantly higher incidence of lung cancer than those living farther away.

"I would ask the council, were you aware of the level of toxicity of this carcinogen? If so where is the outrage?" said Graco member Jillian Allen.

AMY SARA CLARK / THE JERSEY JOURNALGRACO members protest the city's proposed cleanup plan for 16 acres of chromium-tainted land at a former industrial site at 880 Garfield Ave outside City Hall on April 8, 2009

PPG will be required to remediate the site according to the strictest NJDEP residential guidelines, which are 20 parts per million down 20 feet. In addition, chromium below 20 feet will be remediated to protect ground water, according to the NJDEP.

The settlement includes a "goal" of cleaning up the site within five years. It also includes a stipulation that PPG will pay $1.25 million to a Jersey City Environmental Trust Fund, according to the NJDEP.

Graco members want the settlement agreement to include lifetime medical monitoring for area residents, even if they leave Jersey City, a more thorough cleanup, a stricter cleanup timetable, and more done to punish PPG for not cleaning up the site in the 19 years since it was ordered to do so by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

"I've lost my father to lung cancer, I've lost many friends due to that chromium," said Joyce Willis told the council. "I don't know what my life expectancy is but I know it's been cut short. And I want monetary compensation."

Protestors accused Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy of "selling out" by agreeing to the settlement, but Bill Matsikoudis, the city's head lawyer, defended the mayor for being the first to take action.

"There's been chromium there for 80 years and the Healy administration is the first to initiate legal actions and to compel PPG to accept responsibility," he said. "At the end of the day this settlement requires PPG to remediate the Garfield Avenue site in five years to the strictest residential standards in New Jersey, which are the strictest standards in the nation."

He also said the city was reviewing the public comments on the settlement. "We're going to consider what modifications we think are appropriate and seek to have PPG modify the settlement to reflect those modifications," he said.

The public can submit comments through April 15 to Thomas Cozzi at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, P.O. Box 028, Trenton, NJ 08625, or at a public meeting on Monday, March 30 at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 280 Grove St.